Curiosity Trip
by SnozzBerryFields
Summary: During the Black Hood murders, anonymous money was given to Riverdale High which resulted in a couple of new classes and even a new teacher. Andy Carter is just happy to be employed, but soon she is caught up in her student's family dramas. The crime life always seems to suck her in, and she always seems to be attracted to the bad guys in the tale. FP/OC
1. Chapter 1

**It only took 5 years but she's back!**

 **I'll keep this short and sweet. I'll totally try and go over my TVD stuff, I might continue it or rewrite it, but it won't be abandoned.**

 **Please don't be too harsh with this. It's still in its infancy. Oh, and this is a short chapter but I will be updating weekly and they will all be longer than this one.**

 **Enjoy!**

The smell was the first thing that hit her as she walked down the hallway, taking in everything from the lockers to the tiled mosaic bulldog on the floor.

It seemed normal. Cold and empty, which she had to admit felt a little bit eerie, but normal.

It was a school after all. It looked like a school, it smelled clean like a school; of floor polish and chalk. And just like a school, it became chaotic with teens at the mere sound of a bell.

The shrill noise almost made her jump with fright, but she soon became too distracted by the numbers of people swarming out of classrooms and into others, with some stopping to drop things off in their lockers before continuing on their journey.

She was still new to this teaching business, and in a way she still had yet to shake off the feeling of being a student. She had half expected Principal Weatherbee to ask her to stand up in front of people and share a fact about herself when he had introduced her to the other faculty members in the teacher's canteen.

The first few hours had been spent handing in social security numbers and passports, going over paperwork and proving that she really was who she said she was. It had then progressed into a lecture by the principal about what could and could not be taught or discussed in the classroom with pupils.

Jeez, she thought to herself, you'd swear I was looking to date one of the students.

She wasn't about to screw this up though. After leaving college and finishing her teacher training, it had been difficult to find a teaching job. She had been forced to move to New York City after a teaching agency had asked her to cover for a substitute, but she had needed permanent work, plus New York was an impossible city to live in, if you wanted to eat anyway.

She couldn't believe her luck when she was asked to remain in New York state and just move to Rockland County. She really didn't want to have to move again. She had just gotten used to figuring out New York tax forms. At least this way she was still in New York but not in the city itself. She had to thank whoever it was that had decided to pump money into the school in order to start new classes and extra-curriculars, which had led to the teaching vacancy. Even better, was the fact that she got to use her original degree that she had loved, and not just regurgitating useless facts from books like most teachers were forced to do.

She found the room easy enough. Students were already in their seats talking amongst themselves,a few were texting or mindlessly doodling in their books. Not for the first time today, she wondered why the school were starting her class midyear and not in September like a normal school. It was probably to help students to gain extra points towards their GPA. Whatever the reason, she was just thankful to be in a job.

"Alright pipe down, I'm here now." she stated, trying her best at sounding authoritative. Some students could eat you alive, she knew that already, and she felt that if she were to look scary in the beginning, it would mean they wouldn't try to test her on her first day, well that's what she had been telling herself at least. She quickly made her way to her desk and let her bag fall to the floor by her chair before turning to the board.

"I'm Ms. Carter" she started, as she wrote her name on the chalkboard, "and I see that a number of you have chosen to take my sociology class."

She turned back to the class, "Don't be fooled into thinking that it will be easy. If you are someone that hates to read or doesn't care about keeping up to date with the news, you're most likely going to struggle. This isn't a soft subject, as much as people like to say that it is. Any questions?"

"Yeah I have one", a kid with too many muscles for his age asked, "What are you doing after class, babe? Unless the real teacher plans on keeping you back for detention".

"Reg!" a girl with dark hair hissed at the guy, who appeared to be eyeing up his new teacher.

"Pack up your stuff and head to the principal's office", was the only response he got. Ms. Carter had told herself that she would be taking no prisoners today, and she intended on sticking to it. Reg looked at his new teacher as if she were joking, but slowly began to pick up his bag when he noticed her unwavering serious stare. He sighed in annoyance before heading out of the room, all of the other students staring after him as he left.

"Any other serious questions?" the teacher tried again. She wasn't about to let some jerk like that ruin someone's chance at asking a question.

"Yeah, um…", a blonde girl started, "Since it's so late into the school year will we be having normal exams at the end, or a paper? Like how will this work?".

"Good question…" the new teacher kept her arms folded as she leaned against her desk and slightly leaned back to look at the seating arrangement which another member of staff had left on her desk for her to learn her students names, "Ms. Cooper, right?"

The girl nodded with a small smile, "Yeah, I'll just be asking you to write a paper for me. We will figure out material in today's class that we will cover for the rest of the year, and then I'll want you all to hand in a paper at the end of the year on any topic you like, but using theories that I will have taught you in class. It can be a broad topic since this will be a broad class, anything of your choosing really, if you can tie it into a class that we will have had. I'll explain it more clearly as we go on, no need to worry now".

The girl merely nodded. She seemed a little shy, but it was clear that she was going to be someone who would put the work in.

"So do any of you actually know what sociology is? How many of you took this because you thought it would be a walk in the park?"

Most of the class looked at each other, clueless as to how to answer the question and wondering who among them actually knew what to say to appease the teacher.

"It's the study of human society and interaction" the boy sitting next to Ms Cooper answered, seemingly a little bored, if not irritated, with his classmates cluelessness.

"Thank you, I believe you may have just restored my faith in humanity" the new teacher couldn't help but comment sarcastically, making the kid smirk a little, the girl next to him giving him a full blown toothy smile. These two were going to be top of the class, the teacher knew it. And that was all she needed to feel a bit easier in this new school.

000

The new receptionist didn't like her. It was clearly evident in the way she looked at the latest staff member of Riverdale High.

It wasn't like she hadn't made an effort with Ms. Bell the receptionist. She had smiled and tried to make conversation. She had worn one of her best blazers and tried to look presentable today. But no matter what, she knew that this woman was going to judge her, she just hoped that it wasn't because half of her hair was dyed white.

"You know there was no reason to send that young man to the office today".

Finally, here it is, the reason she hates me, the younger woman thought with an eye roll.

"What do you mean?"

"Boys will be boys dear. And can you blame him? You seem a bit young, I mean. You look like one of those teenagers from the city", came the reply.

The other woman had to hold back a scoff, "I'm 26. I'm not a child. He shouldn't be talking to women like that, full stop. My class will hit upon sensitive issues and I will not have him getting in the habit of speaking to people like that. Either he will respect his classmates, or he won't be in the same class as them".

"We'll see about that dear. He's a very good football player, and his parents are very influential people. I'm sure they wouldn't be too happy to hear that he is being denied a class he had signed up for".

"We'll see".

000

Day one had certainly been eventful.

She had had some great students, and some bad eggs. She had successfully managed to not make a fool of herself, yet also be judged by the receptionist. She had figured out exactly what the students would like to learn about this year, and was therefore able to start constructing a solid lesson plan for the rest of the year. And she had also managed to get over her fear of being called into Weatherbee's office to be scolded for kicking that kid out of her class. She didn't know if it would really happen or not. But she had decided not to dwell on it, and chose to give him another chance if he showed up again for tomorrow's class. Everyone deserves a second chance in her book, and that was one belief that wasn't going to change.

000

"So how did you kids get on today? Jug said something about a new class", FP Jones, newest staff member of Pop's, asked as he set down a plate of fries and four milkshakes on the table in front of his son and his three friends. The tediousness of the job was beginning to set in the closer he got to the end of his shift. He wouldn't say it out loud but he enjoyed seeing his son walk in and having the ability to have a conversation with him, despite the fact that there was still a part of his brain that felt guilty and embarrassed that his son had to bring his friends to the diner just to see his father mopping up spilled milkshakes and wearing the stupid hat that came as part of the uniform.

"Good yeah. It seems like it will be interesting", Betty responded with a smile, her arms crossed as she leaned against the table. She was sitting by the window, with Veronica across from her, and the two boys sitting on the outside part of their booth by the door.

"Yeah. I think we're gonna like it. Did you see how she just handled Reggie like that? She didn't even flinch!" Veronica chimed in, looking around at everyone. Out of the four of them, Veronica had been the most impressed by the new Ms. Carter. She knew that deep down Reggie could be a good guy. She had seen it when he had defended Archie and tried to help him with the Red Circle. But she had to admit that he could be a total sleaze, and totally needed to get over himself. A new strong badass was exactly what Riverdale High needed, in her opinion anyway.

"There's a new teacher in the school to teach a new class and she sent Reggie to the office for trying to hit on her", Archie said in response to the look of confusion which had crossed the face of his best friend's dad.

"New teacher, huh? Well she will need a tough skin if she's gonna survive around here. What did you think Jug?"

"It was good. Still too early to tell but it sounds like a cool class."

"I think you're gonna do great", Betty smiled at her boyfriend, before turning to his dad, "Apparently the class is going to have debates and political stuff. It's totally something that was made just for Jug".

His father merely chuckled, before turning to walk away and get back to work, "As long as you get a good report card boy".

 **There you go!**

 **Please review, it would really mean a lot.**

 **Until next week!**


	2. Chapter 2

**As promised, a weekly update! It's slightly late though because today was my birthday and I also work, so I'm a busy bee.**

 **Enjoy!**

He wouldn't admit it, but it had quickly become his favourite class. Tuesdays and Thursdays were now the highlight of his week, when he took his seat and listened to what was being said to him. About the theories that people had put forward to explain society, about how societies affected families and vice versa,dissecting political systems and questioning power play.

It made him ponder his own family.; his mother and sister all the way in Toledo while he remained here with his dad. He thought about how they still managed to work together lately and contribute in some way to Riverdale.

He watched in awe as he was shown clips of documentaries depicting countries falling under dictatorships, and wondered if that was what was happening to Riverdale too. Was it about to become part of the Lodge Empire?

He had enjoyed listening, and for the first time in a long time, actually felt as if he was learning new material. For so long he had just gone to school to sit down and have teachers tell him about books he had already read and facts he already knew.

So yeah, it was his favourite class. But he wasn't about to start shouting it from the rooftops. That would just make him look like an idiot.

But he was going to approach the teacher about his paper. She obviously knew what she was talking about, so he wanted to run something by her.

"Ms. Carter?" he asked as the last of the students filed out of the room, bustling to finally be free for the day and go home.

"Yes, Jughead right?" she looked up. It had been quite easy to learn the students names after they had begun to drop out of her class, and even easier when she had been able to pinpoint the ones who actually enjoyed her class. It had only been two weeks since she had first started, and she was honestly surprised when Reggie had come back and remained in class. There hadn't been a problem with him just yet, and she really hoped that there wouldn't be.

"Yeah, um. I wanted to talk to you about that end of year paper you mentioned before"

"Sure. You want to get a head start on the reading?"

"Yeah, well...I was wondering what you would know about the criminal side of stuff. I mean. You've spoken in class about corrupt governments and people damaging society but you haven't said anything about crime itself yet. And I wanted to to ask if you had any ideas about where to start if I were to write about crime".

"Well, it's a pretty broad area", Ms. Carter replied, once again going to lean against her desk, which he had noticed by now was her habit. "What did you have in mind exactly? Drug cartels? Serial killers?Green crime?"

"You'd let me write an essay on serial killers?" Jughead asked, his hand gripping his backpack and his head tilted in disbelief.

"Sure, as long as it was interesting and showed a use of theory, I don't see why not. You could even profile one particular one if you wanted. Or you could analyse the impact they had on their community. Although serial killers are tricky, they tend to move around. But it would be cool though, to use sociology and not psychology. You wouldn't have to go all _Criminal Minds_ on it all. I could give you a list of stuff you could look into tomorrow if you like".

"Sure. Woah, I didn't think they taught about murder at teacher school".

"Nah, I'm just the weird teacher that felt compelled to look into it all on my own. But don't tell the other teachers in this place, God forbid they excommunicate me from the staff room".

Jughead couldn't remember the last time he had met such a sarcastic teacher in his life, but he had to admit that it was refreshing. Most of them had lost the peppy teaching spirit of a new teacher, or they had been so sucked into it that they even considered the word 'damn' to be blasphemous to send students to the office. She wasn't patronising like the rest of them could be. She wasn't boring or depressing either. Then again, he didn't know why he expected her to be that way. She wasn't exactly the most conventional of teachers. Veronica had immediately tried to collect gossip when she had come to the school, and she had told the gang that the newest teacher had taught in New York, but she didn't exactly know where. She had also mentioned that she was originally from Massachusetts, and that she had yet to see her wear shoes other than docs.

But now that he really analysed the teacher in front of him, he understood why Reggie had been such a jerk. The teacher in question had a chunk of the right side of her hair dyed white, a metal nose stud, and, for today anyway, feathered earrings. She wasn't a hippy like the art teacher down the hall, but she wasn't exactly as conservative as Betty's mom either. And now here she was, sharing her knowledge on serial killers. She seemed like she was either still in college, or an eccentric teenager with too much freedom. No wonder Reggie had doubted her teacher status and immediately judged her to be a student.

And the millennials finally enter into the workforce, Jughead thought to himself.

"How does someone go from an interest in criminals to teaching in a high school?" he couldn't help but ask. His inner journalist was just burning to ask as many questions as possible. When he looked at her that's all he saw, questions.

"Well, when I went to college I didn't know what I wanted to do, so when I finished with my degree in sociology I decided to do a few extra years to train to be a teacher. What can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment". There it was again, the sarcasm.

"Well, thanks. I'll come back tomorrow to get that list. Thanks again", and with that Jughead shuffled from the room, probably with more information than Veronica had managed to uncover in her day long gossiping sessions with the River Vixens and Kevin.

000

She didn't know if there was a higher power looking out for her today, but she certainly knew that the perfect timing meant that Mercury certainly wasn't in retrograde, as the shrill ring of the phone started up the moment she walked into her apartment. She dropped her bags of groceries she had managed to get on the way home from work, and also carry up the steps of her apartment duplex. She could finally relax after a long day of working and having to listen to the geography teacher talk about some car that had been found, according to this morning's news. She really needed to buy a TV.

"Andy", she said into the phone.

"Finally! I was wondering when you'd let me know that you were alive", the voice on the other side said.

"Chris"

"What, did you forget about me already sis? You only live like a 4 hour drive away, you know?"

"Really? I should try and move sometime and find out"

"Oh, you're hilarious" the deadpan voice on the other end stated. "So, tell me sister dearest, how is the Big Apple treating you?"

"The Big Apple is the city you idiot. I don't live in a city"

"Well there's a reason that you're the one in the family that went to college". Andy rolled her eyes at her brother's antics. As much as he annoyed her, she had missed hearing him tease her. "So, how is this new job going. How is Laketown treating you?".

"It's Riverdale, jerk", she shot back, carrying the wireless phone around with her as she began to unpack her groceries. She absolutely hated mess, and had felt the need to unpack everything the moment she moved in, which was why her apartment was spotless, with couches covered in throws, incense resting over the fireplace, books placed on shelves and rugs laid down, despite only living in the place for less than a month.

"Whatever. It can't be that bad anyway, if you're still kicking."

"What? You worried something will happen? You gonna get me a dog for Christmas? You know I've always wanted a Rottweiler".

"Very funny. As if you could take care of a dog, I wouldn't even trust you with a plant"

"That doesn't count. I don't give a crap about plants".

"Crap? Seriously? You really _have_ become a teacher. Someone's been monitoring their language".

"Being a teacher is fine, I'll have you know." she replied, immediately on the defensive, "I mean it gets stressful when you're about to leave for the day and the principal tells you that you've got some kind of parent - teacher meeting thing coming up, but still… it's still better than winding up like you" Andy murmured. There was a pause just then and the biggest feeling of awkwardness passed over her. "I'm sorry. You know that I didn't mean-".

"I know. I know. It's okay."

"I miss you"

"I miss you too, sis. I'll call again soon okay? Keep in touch. Let a guy know you're okay for christsakes"

"Will do. I'll speak to you sometime next week. If I don't, you have permission to come over here and kick some sense into me."

"Trust me, the pleasure would be all mine. See ya Andy".

"See ya".

She heard the phone click and the line go dead before placing the phone on the counter and looking around at her empty apartment. An overwhelming sense of loneliness washed over her. It was so strong that it was beginning to make her uncomfortable. Talking to Chris always had that effect on her. She missed her younger brother of two years everytime he called her, but she had her life here now, and he had his own one back in Massachusetts. He was right though, they were only a few hours away from one another.

000

On the other side of town, a mother was storming home with her daughter following close behind, leaving a father and son alone in their trailer.

"I get what you were trying to do, boy. But we need to keep a low profile." the father said to his son as he came over to take a seat next to him on the couch.

"I know. But no one would ever believe that we would ignore something like that. It would make us even more suspicious. It got us information didn't it? Maybe the owner of the car will have some more information that we can-"

"No. We have enough people out to get us, and especially now with the Lodges we need to be seen to be toeing the line. We can't be seen to be doing anything illegal right now".

"I know. I just can't sit here and try and focus on nothing".

"You're a kid, Jug. You should be focusing on dates and school assignments. Not murder victims cars and some guy building prisons."

"It's our home. Someone needs to fight for it. Betty needed help and I was there for her. I'd do it again…." Jughead stopped, understanding where his father was coming from. This was one of those moments where he really understood how exasperated he made his father, like when he officially joined the serpents, or when his father had discovered what he had done to Penny. He knew that his dad only wanted the best for him, and that he was trying hard himself too ever since he got out of prison. He sighed, "Besides, I do normal stuff. I go to the Bijou with Betty. I do school work. I don't slack off. And I'm pretty sure all the stuff with the Blue and Gold should count for extra credit at this stage."

"Maybe it would look good on a college application".

"I don't even want to think about that stuff just yet".

"It's still your future, boy. You're gonna have to start thinking about it sooner or later. Figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life."

"I know"

"I mean it. I'm not slaving away in that diner for nothing, you know. I want you to succeed Jug, you and Jellybean. You're a bright kid."

Jughead looked away from his dad and down at the floor. Once again, he saw his father's side of things. He just couldn't bring himself to start thinking about the stress of paying for college tuition, and figuring out what he wanted to do. He knew he wanted to write, but he also knew that he couldn't depend on it as a career. Besides, there was too much going on right now, like the owner of that car he had pushed into the lake for instance. And his girlfriend's creepy secretive brother, not to mention the threat of the Lodge's evicting everyone in his trailer park and turning Riverdale into one big fat for profit prison.

"Yeah well, I'm sure that everyone will be in agreement with you at the meeting on Friday", Jughead responded quietly. The last thing he needed was even more adults ganging up on him, trying to tell him what to do.

"What meeting?"

"The parent-teacher one. I thought they sent out letters about it or something. Most of the teachers have been using it as a threat all week, saying that they will tell everyone's parents if they so much as sneeze", he slightly chuckled, unphased by the empty threats.

"I didn't read no letter. It's probably in that pile over there. I still need to get through it", FP nodded over in the direction of the kitchenette, where a pile of envelopes and papers could be seen on a countertop, mainly consisting of bills that he didn't want to think of.

"You better not have pissed off any of those teachers, boy. I'm gonna need a heads up if you've been causing trouble in any of your classes".

"Other than the usual remark from Coach Clayton, none of them are out to get me, as far as I know".

"Yeah well, that guy's been an asshole since his own high school days".

"You shouldn't have any trouble. It'll just be the usual teachers and faculty, and that new teacher that Veronica and Betty were talking about in the diner. I haven't been suspended again or anything".

FP couldn't help but chuckle a bit. The kid was stubborn as hell, he'd give him that. He was definitely his kid alright. It wasn't easy having a kid with brains to burn. Hell, sometimes it was even a bit intimidating, not that he would ever admit it though. Jughead still had a lot to learn, and a lot of life to live. His son still needed his help, and he would be damned if he didn't do anything to help him. He had spent so long looking down the bottom of a bottle and pushing away everyone around him, not noticing until it was too late that he had lost his family. He wasn't about to let that happen again. Sometimes it felt as if it physically hurt him, whenever he thought about his son going without a home, just to get away from him. It made him feel like a monster. And then to think about his wife and daughter so far away, it bruised his ego, of course, but it also made him feel unbelievably guilty. It seemed that the only way to make these feelings go away, if even for five minutes, was by being the father he knew that he was supposed to be. He knew that he didn't have to be all dressed up and educated like Hiram Lodge or Hal Cooper, but sometimes he couldn't help but compare himself to them and feel like a failure. But he would always do what needed to be done to protect his own, family or serpent.

"You better not have been. I don't want to be made look like a fool and hear it second hand if you've been kicked out".

"And where would I go if I were spending my time pretending to be in school, the diner? I'm pretty sure Sweet Pea would grass me up to you anyway", Jughead couldn't help but scoff. The serpents were reliable and trustworthy, but he wouldn't exactly put it past them to rat him out to his father.

000

There was only one thing that Andrea Carter hated more than rowdy teenagers in her class, and they were the temperamental parents that usually followed after them. The moment Weatherbee came into the teacher's canteen and announced the upcoming parent - teacher meeting, she felt a shiver of fear run down her spine. She totally wasn't ready for this. She hadn't even been in the school a month and she had to be able to discuss all of her students, and with their parent's no less. She knew that she shouldn't have taken the first two weeks off to unpack her apartment. She should have given herself a head start and immediately started working. Stupid need to be clean and organised, she thought to herself.

They hadn't sat an exam. She hadn't any lists of evidence of work. She didn't even know what to expect from the parents. It was all going to be foreign and unknown territory, and that was the worst thought of all.

The other teachers had immediately begun to talk amongst themselves as soon as the principal turned to walk back to his office, probably to discuss how they would go about their own meetings or to gossip about certain parents. This was probably the closest that Andrea was going to get to being in anyway prepared for her own meetings.

She spotted the geography teacher, whom she had spoken to before, speaking to a man she assumed was the school's sports coach, judging from his tracksuit and the whistle that hung around his neck.

"Oh Andrea!" the geography teacher cried with a little too much enthusiasm, seeing that Andy had come to join in on the conversation. "Coach Clayton and I were just talking about all of the new Southside kids. It will be the first time that any of us have met their parents or guardians since they only transferred here from Southside High not too long ago. I hope everything goes alright. I have to admit that I am quite worried…", she was beginning to ramble and Andy was beginning to zone out. By the looks of things, Coach Clayton had zoned out a while ago and was merely nodding solemnly at everything coming out of the other woman's mouth.

Andy had heard from some of the students in her class about the closure of Southside High. Apparently a few of them, including Jughead, had come from there. They all seemed bitter about the whole ordeal, but Andy couldn't blame them. No one wanted to be forced to become the new kid in school.

"...being accused of murder and then going to prison for…"

"Excuse me?" Andy asked. That had been a sentence that had definitely grabbed her attention.

"Well...I don't mean to gossip but…" the curly blonde teacher looked conspiratorially around the room before leaning in towards Andy, both hands gripping onto her coffee mug in excitement, "Jughead Jones' father, not so long ago, was accused of the murder of Jason Blossom, but then it turned out he didn't do. It had actually been the boy's father that killed him, but Jones had been the one to help hide the body".

"Blossom? Like Cheryl?"

"Her twin brother! Oh dear, I forget that you haven't been here long. So much has happened! Between the Blossom boy's murder and then the Black Hood…"

"That is quite enough Louise. I don't think that we would want to scare off Ms Carter now, do we?" The two women jumped at the voice and turned to see a very stern looking Mr Weatherbee. Coach Clayton had disappeared, probably bored of listening to two women gossiping, although it had really been Louise doing all of the gossiping. Andy had merely stood there and progressively become more and more afraid of what would happen in her parent-teacher meeting.

The principal gave one more look to the women before walking away.

Louise watched him leave but spoke quietly from the corner of her mouth, "I haven't even gotten onto the Lodge's yet."

 **So you got to see our two characters again, but next chapter they're properly gonna meet. How do you think it will fair out? Any ideas?**

 **Leave a review, I'd love to hear from you.**

 **Till next week!**


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